High School Football All Season

As we look forward to the upcoming high school football season, there are various emotions for fans. It doesn’t matter what year it is, the feelings are annually the same at this point on the calendar.

That’s what draws us in.

Regardless of what school one roots for, this is a time for optimism for all. For teams that struggle, one wonders if their work and effort during the off-season are enough to turn the tide. Successful teams carry the swagger their fans embrace, it’ll be another good season.

So what will this new season offer? For openers, there have enough changes so that many fans have high expectations. The action will be on the field, transferred from courts and appeal hearings, and we’re anxious to get it started, more so than in previous seasons.

XTRA XTRA!

Look for the Prep Xtra keepsake magazine in your print edition of the paper on Friday, Aug. 29, 2014.

What do we have to look forward to?

For openers, a local league now in a position to win one of the bigger school conference. The CIF-SS shuffled schools with its top two divisions – Pac-5 and the new West Valley – and it could be good news for this area. Eisenhower is the last local school to win the big schools title, in 1993 with Tom Hoak as the coach, while the last Division II (Inland Conference) crown won by a local was Tim Salter’s Upland team in 2000. Chino made the finals a year later, but fell short against Mission Viejo, the last appearance by a San Bernardino County team in one of the premier divisions.

In recent years, the Baseline and Sierra (now a part of history) have been the best in the area. However, they were in a conference dominated by the Big VIII and Southwestern leagues, winners of the last eight titles.

But the Baseline has improved its position.

The Big VIII has been moved to the Pac-5 (taking Corona Centennial and its seven titles since 2002 with it), leaving the Baseline to slug it out with the Southwestern, Foothill, Sunset and South Coast in the West Valley Division, which will be better known as Four Corners due to the location of the leagues (north L.A. County, south Riverside County, south and central Orange County along with the schools in San Bernardino County).

The West Valley could every well rival the Pac-5 (Big VIII, Mission, Marmonte, Moore and Trinity league) as the best in the Southern Section from top to bottom.

Damien was the biggest winner in all the shuffling, by a close margin. The Spartans are no longer having to compete weekly against other Catholic schools since being assigned to the Baseline, along with Sierra refugee Chino Hills. Second to Damien was Alta Loma, which has long struggled in the Baseline but is pegged to thrive in the Mt. Baldy.

Advertisement

For Damien, it’s a return to some long-established rivalries. The Spartans were in the league in the last century and were successful in the league.

For every winner, there are losers. In the latest round of the re-leaguing process, San Bernardino and Pacific were hammered. They are no longer members of the San Andreas with city rivals San Gorgonio and Arroyo Valley, plus new school Indian Springs. Rather, the schools have been shifted into the Mountain Valley that will dictate lengthy bus trips to Moreno Valley, Rubidoux and Banning.

However, there will be an intense intracity rivalries in other leagues. The Citrus Belt, Sunkist and Miramonte will be dominated by such battles.

Citrus Valley, the newest of the schools in Redlands, will join Redlands and Redlands East Valley in the Citrus Belt, which also includes Eisenhower, Miller, Cajon, Carter and Yucaipa.

The CBL was once tops among the local leagues. Best-known as the CIF’s Black-and-Blue league and playing in the premier division, it is now in a revamped Inland Division, along with the San Andreas, Inland Valley, the competitive Mountain Pass and Sunbelt.

A 2013 CIF champion, Jurupa Hills, is now in the SAL along with Rim of the World and Indian Springs. San Gorgonio, Arroyo Valley and Rialto are the old-timers.

A pair of cities spice in the rivalries in the Miramonte. Pomona. Garey and Ganesha will slug it out as will La Puente and La Puente Bassett.

The new Palomares League might have once been a super league, had the members have mixed it up backed then. Ayala, Bonita, Diamond Bar, Claremont and South Hills have CIF titles to their credit, but not Glendora.

The Palomares has been placed in the Central Division and will tangle with the Mt. Baldy, Rio Hondo, Hacienda and Sunkist. Chino and Diamond Ranch are new in the Hacienda, which also features Covina Charter Oak. In the Mt. Baldy, Alta Loma replaces Chino, joining district mates Chaffey, Colony, Montclair and Ontario in addition to Don Lugo.

That’s a short travel league, but nothing like the Sunkist. Three of the five Fontana schools – Kaiser, Summit and Fontana – are in the grouping along with three Colton schools: Colton, Grand Terrace and Bloomington. The longest trip – Summit to Grand Terrace – is shorter than most road games in other local leagues.

Four of the six Amabassador schools are fairly close – Western Christian, Ontario Christian, Aquinas and Arrowhead Christian – but travel to Riverside Notre Dame and Temecula Linfield Christian. But the Northwest playoffs are different, ranging from the De Anza League (Big Bear, Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley) to Morro Bay in the Northern League to Sun Valley Heritage Christian in the Olympic to Playa del Rey St. Bernard.

The Eastern Conference also offers San Bernardino’s High Desert schools a real title shot. The Mojave River, with perennial contenders Serrano and Oak Hills, and the Desert Sky will travel east and south in the playoffs into Riverside County (east to Palm Springs and south to Moreno Valley).